City developer ahead of schedule

"Build it and they will come" is the adage the master developer of the city's downtown redevelopment project is adhering to and putting all its trust.

And it was that same viewpoint the group conveyed to the city council on July 19 when it reported its progress on the project.

The Vlass Temple Terrace LLC team stressed it is working at a fast and furious pace in its effort to transform the 29-acre area southeast of Bullard Parkway and North 56th Street into a $150 million New Urbanism-style development containing retail, restaurant, residential, office and civic/cultural components.

While the site plan was approved in November 2009 and the Vlass team was given three years to start the development and two years to complete Phase 1 of the three-phase project, they are ahead of schedule.

They broke ground on the first phase in July 2010 and the section near 56th Street and Chicago Avenue is already near completion.

Sweetbay Supermarket has undergone a $3.5 million makeover and buildings on both sides have been renovated to make room for Sally's Beauty, Rainbow clothing store and Radio Shack to relocate from their former sites within the complex.

The parking lot adjacent to Sweetbay has been lowered and re-paved to improve the complex's aesthetic appeal and a new post office fronting Chicago Avenue was built and is now open for business. The new post office replaces its longtime home in a building at the center of the redevelopment area slated for demolition within the next several months.

Developers are now ready to move on to Phase 2.

The first step is to construct a lushly landscaped Main Street in the center of the development from Bullard Parkway to Chicago Avenue. A park with a gazebo on close to a 1-acre site just east of the road will be added as a focal point for visitors to enjoy.

The parking areas in that section also will be lowered and re-paved.

And that portion of the work should be finished by Thanksgiving, said Michael Lant of M.J. Lant Developments, a member of the Vlass Temple Terrace team.

"On Thanksgiving, please be around because we're going to have a big party," said Mike Vlass, head of the Vlass Group.

The next stage in the process is to demolish the remaining buildings in the central and northern sections of the project except for the Burger King at Bullard Parkway and 56th Street, whose lease does not expire until 2013.

That will make way for the construction of 200 apartments within a gated complex. The four-story buildings will be built in four clusters.

"There will be breaks between the buildings for relief and to give the builder a chance to finish one before starting another," Vlass said.

Mark Sneed, a partner in the Vlass Temple Terrace venture, said no new multi-family residences have been built in Temple Terrace in many years. Therefore, he thinks the community, including those associated with the University of South Florida and Florida College, will support it.

Plans also are in the works to design a site plan for the community arts and education center that will front 56th Street.

"I'm sure in the next couple of months when we get some conceptual designs and some elevations together we'll come back to you and maybe even start construction early next year," Lant said.

In addition, Vlass said a "food village" between Chicago Avenue and Riverhills Drive has been added to the plan. The section closest to 56th Street will consist of fast-food restaurants and behind it will be mid-scale restaurants. The rear of the complex will contain more high-end eateries that will overlook a yet-to-be-built park on the site of the city's current retention pond.